TWISTED
by Mattymoon973
Summary: Love isn't something psychopaths know, Michaelis uses and abuses people to get what he wants and disposes of them once they've outlived their purpose. Revenna was his mistake, if he wanted to be rid of her, he should have never kidnapped her in the first place.


TWISTED

Chapter 1 - First Encounter

Revenna mentally reminded herself to breathe as panic flared inside of her chest. She stood staring through the one-way mirror into the interrogation room, observing the eerily calm suspect. He was accused of breaking into the 'Asylum' and causing a riot which resulted in the patients escaping. What probably disturbed her the most about him was the fact that he appeared so normal, wearing a black suit with a waistcoat and tie, his black hair slicked back and handsome face cleanly shaven, he looked respectable. It unnerved her how much he didn't look like a mad-man.

Her superiors had warned her that he was awaiting a psyche-evaluation to determine his state of insanity, they were CONVINCED he was crazy and yet they deemed it perfectly safe for her to interview him. Upon her initial reaction which was sheer horror, they assured her he would be restrained, handcuffed to the table. Growling in frustration she entered the room.

His head snapped up to look at the woman standing in the door way and he smiled. Her stomach twisted, it wasn't a pleasant smile, it was the kind where ill-intentions were hidden behind. And his eyes, God, they were so hauntingly blue, heavily contrasted with the rest of his black attire. Curtly and professionally she took a seat opposite him and pressed 'play' on the recorder.

"For the record, my name is Officer Revenna Engely and I will be conducting this interview-" his shrill laugh cut her off, her whole body went rigid, all that emanated from him was an air of menace when he made that noise.

"Forgive me but I couldn't help but notice your name is an anagram. R.E.V from your first name and E.N.G.E from your second-spells REVENGE. Did your parents wish you to enact revenge on someone Revenna? Is that why you joined the police force?" she gaped at him in stunned silence, it quickly became apparent to her that either this man was a genius or he liked to think himself a genius. And paired alongside psychotic tendencies, it was a very dangerous mentality to have. She'd have to be cautious around him.

"Our discussion isn't about me" she snapped in agitation "We're here to discuss why you broke INTO the 'Asylum' and freed all of its extremely unstable patients" she reminded him. A ghost of a smile played on his lips and he leaned forward, excitedly in his seat.

"What you almost said was 'prisoners' which would have been a much more accurate description" he spat bitterly.

"Is that why you set them free, you're a monster-sympathiser?" his eyes darkened and his expression contorted in disgust.

"Why are you doing that?" he demanded impatiently. She shrank in her seat, what ever it was she was doing, she REALLY didn't want to offend him.

"Doing what?" she asked timidly, fidgeting in her seat under his scrutiny.

"You're trying to sound like one of them. Do yourself a favour and don't. These people, they're sick, not just in the sense that they're dying but in the sense that they would kill to preserve themselves" he chuckled at this "Now I'm not pretending to be a saint-I've killed people-some innocent bystanders but I have a purpose, I have a reason for doing so-them? They're cowards, they're afraid to die so to extend their pathetic lives they've built the 'Asylum' where they kidnap monsters like you and I-" she gasped and his eyes lit up as if to say 'yes, I know you're secret'. "And monsters, they make the perfect livestock, healthy organs, ripe for the taking, immune to those pesky parasites eating away at the humans' flesh and the best part? Is that they'll just keep regrowing the organs they loose, over and over again ripping them out, healing and tearing them to pieces and recovering. That's why the hospital is called the 'Asylum, you're sane when you go in, insane when you come out" he sat back in his seat with a satisfied smile on his face as he enjoyed her discomfort.

"The suspect suffers from paranoid delusions and anything he says can not be held with any credibility" one of her superiors spoke over the intercom. He laughed hysterically, "Tell me, Revenna, have you ever been inside the 'Asylum'? Hmm?" she was reluctant to answer because she knew she had no business assuming he was a liar when she's never seen the place for herself.

"Exactly. Do you think they would let the public know what they're doing? Monster-sympathisers, as you called them, would not sit by idly if they knew the secret this city has been hiding for years. Look-" deliberately slowly to heighten her suspense he removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt to reveal jagged, torn flesh, angry, crimson scars curling over his torso and abdomen, very recent and upon seeing them she backed up against the one-way mirror. She had to turn her back, she couldn't look at them anymore.

He hummed thoughtfully to himself while buttoning up his shirt. "I'm sorry does this bother you?" he asked in a patronizing tone. She turned to face him, eyes blazing, she thought she might cry or scream.

"How can you be so callous about torture?" she demanded horrified

"Because this-" he gestured to himself "Is not the worst I've endured". She found that very hard to believe but doubted that anyone who wasn't used to having pain inflicted on them would have handled it so casually.

"Revenna please commence with the interrogation" her superiors said sternly so she took a seat and swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"What's your name?" she asked, pen poised to fill in his profile sheet.

"I don't have a name" she glanced up at him perplexed

"What?" he huffed running a hand through his hair which she noticed was becoming dishevelled, which reflected his annoyance at being locked inside this room with no one to 'play' with. Of course there was the police officer but he was enjoying himself too much watching her squirm and feeding her his sap story.

"Michaelis is all I've ever been known by, it was my father's last name" he sighed. "And don't look at me that way" he growled, predatorily

"What way?" she murmured avoiding his piercing gaze.

"I don't want your pity" he said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Sorry", "Don't do that", "Do what?!" she hissed angrily, making him smile "Apologize" she sighed, exhausted by this interview and they had barely gotten started.

"Do you enjoy feeling superior?" she asked testily, he burst out laughing at her irritation

"I am superior, don't you see? You can lock me in a cage if you think that will make you safe but I'll always be the one in control" she rolled her eyes

"Kind of hard when you've been arrested and handcuffed" she absently skimmed over her paperwork but his reply sent a chill down her spine

"I'm not" her eyes shot up to catch a glimpse of his restraints which he held uselessly in his free hands. Before she could react he had lunged across the table, wrapping the chain around her neck and dragging her across its surface, scattering papers all over the floor.

With his strength he could have easily snapped her neck but he relished in watching her choke to death instead, coiling the chain so tightly her eyes bulged, tears streaming down her cheeks and they were bloodshot, she clawed at her neck which he could imagine was turning purple and she made strangled, pleading cries. His smile was sick and sadistic but unfortunately he couldn't kill her, not if he wanted to escape. She passed out in his arms and he produced the tiny piece of metal he had hidden underneath his skin to picklock his handcuffs and pressed it against her jugular in warning as police officers burst through the door.

"Careful" he chastised piercing her skin so a tiny trickle of blood ran down her neck

"Stop!" they begged and he smirked, obliging them

"Hears what's going to happen-you're going to let me walk out of here and I won't spill her blood all over these walls. Though you know I'm eager to get a taste" he was delighted watching their disgusted faces as he licked the crimson liquid from the small gash.

"Times ticking and I'm not a patient man" he said irritably, carving a letter 'M' into her skin as more of an after-thought but it elicited the response he was after. He instructed them to place their weapons on the ground and once he had moved past them demanded they give him the key to the interrogation room and get inside.

"How do we know you're not going to just kill her after you're done with her?" one of them sneered, he smiled guiltily, that had been his plan but he choose to ignore his remark

"I could kill her right now if you'd prefer?" reluctantly, they did as they were told. He scooped Revenna up into his arms and carried her out of the building. He found an abandoned police car in the parking lot, smashing its window, throwing her inside and hot-wiring the car before tearing out of there. He swerved through the traffic, obliterating the speed limit whilst they were being pursued.

Revenna had regained consciousness and furious, she tried to grab for the wheel but he struck her with his elbow, breaking her nose, she gasped as blood poured down her chin and on to her shirt.

"Behave" he commanded, she had to cling to whatever she could grab a hold of as they made sharp turns and jarred over speed bumps, making her cling even tighter. Michaelis howled with manic laughter, revelling in the adrenaline rush it brought him to watch police cars collide into pedestrian cars and roll across the road and ending in savage explosions.

"Let me out, right now!" she shrieked over the roar of the engine and the screech of the tires burning on tarmac.

"If you insist!" he hollered, reaching over to open her door and pushed her out! The force of her hitting her back knocked the air out of her lungs and she scraped her arms and legs as she rolled to a stop in the middle of the road, watching Michaelis speed away.

She lay there gasping for a few minutes before dragging herself to her feet. Her bones ached and she limped back to her apartment, not caring in the least for the carnage Michaelis had left in his wake. She was fuming, for letting her guard down, for allowing herself to be put in that situation. She practically collapsed through the front door and while lying on the floor pondered how many ways she knew to punish him for making the mistake of hurting a girl like her.

Sitting herself down at her dresser, she rubber away at the white face paint concealing her tattoos, the half-skeleton smile and the letters T.W.S.T.E.D running down the left side of her face. She also removed the contact lens which revealed the letter 'I' completing it. She let down her mane of thickly tangled black hair and got dressed for an evening of hot pursuit, torture and possibly murder if she felt that was the only way to get her message across. She couldn't contain her crazed smile any longer. He thought he was so intimidating, how precious. She practically skipped down the street, armed with her favourite handguns and a selection of sharp objects to play with, one big flaw about the man she was after was that he had left a trail of mayhem to follow. She would find him and cut him into pieces, they hadn't quite finished their conversation...

Chapter 2 - Revealing Our True Selves

Michaelis had driven himself to the opposite side of town, the tower had been under construction for years and was home to the slayers. Essentially the government had no control over them, they were free to burn monsters alive if they wished. Humans distrusted monsters, they had powers, an advantage over them, they were stronger than them and that bred a lot of jealousy and hatred towards them.

She was ready for him, having had set up lines of barbed wire and was standing staring at her reflection in the store windows. Revenna was boiling with rage, she was examining the bloated purple ring of bruising around her neck and the scratched letter 'M' in her skin. It infuriated her how she had to play nice, how she'd had to let him get the upper - hand, his strength was supernatural and if she'd overpowered him it would have looked insanely suspicious.

She was grinding her teeth with seething hatred over the thought that she had had to consciously remind herself whilst being watched by her superiors to react the way a "sane" person would in that situation. She'd been mimicking human behaviours her entire life, now it was second nature to her.

He came speeding around the corner, his tires exploded when they drove across the barbed wire, the car flipped on to its roof, shattering the windows and sending debris flying everywhere. Once it had screeched to a stop she casually strolled up to it, drawing out a knife and running the blade along the already scratched to hell police car. She dragged Michaelis out, dumping his broken body on the ground, he hadn't stopped laughing since the car had ceased to be battered by the metal smashing on tarmac.

Dragging him up on his feet she slammed him into a wall, he grimaced as he felt his bones cracking and tiny shards of glass were cutting into his back "Don't you make a pretty little psychopath" his smile revealed the blood that was pooling inside of his mouth.

She lashed out with the knife but he snapped her wrist back, slicing it in between her ribs. She yelped, stumbling backwards, unlike their last encounter however, she didn't cower at the things he did to her. Giving a sharp tug she pulled it out. "Don't cut yourself" he said patronizingly.

Taking this as a dare she licked the edge of the blade opening up a gash along her tongue without even flinching. He arched an eyebrow whilst smiling like the devil.

She hurled the knife through the air and it buried itself into his shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards into the wall. When she came running at him, his reflexes kicked in, he caught her and slammed her into a window causing it to crack under the immense force. She choked up blood and she felt a few of her ribs snap.

She kicked his kneecap bending it inward at a painful angle, forcing him to kneel at her feet. Revenna struck him, hard across the face with a crowbar she had brought along for the occasion. He sprawled back on the ground, with what he knew was a broken jaw. It wasn't the first time and he was grateful for his exceptional ability to heal thanks to his mother.

Steadying himself in a crouching position, when she came at him again he flipped her over his head and brought her body down hard on the concrete. He kicked her viciously, over and over again in the chest, shattering her already broken ribs and she coughed up blood on to the ground.

Making sure she was looking him in the eye when she did it, Revenna slashed his shin with a blade concealed in her boot. He fell on to his knees, blood gushing out and showering her in tiny crimson droplets. Standing shakily she quipped "I like you better this way" sitting on his knee, the blood oozing out in aggravation and he bared his teeth against the searing hot pain throbbing through his leg.

She yanked the blade out of his shoulder, drawing a curse from his lips and she pressed the tip into his throat. Before she could cut any deeper she felt the barrel of a gun had been pressed to her heart. Her face twisted in anger.

"You think you're the only one who likes to play games?" he taunted with a daring lilt in his voice. They were at an odds, which he couldn't see them getting out of completely unharmed. If he shot her and her hand jerked, the motion would split his jugular but at the same time if she made the first move, he had time to shoot her through the heart.

Taking a risky chance but the only other option he had, Michaelis took her by surprise, sliding forward and angling himself so that the blade only cut across the side of his neck and before she could correct it his hand wound into her hair and he captured her lips.

She tensed from the contact and he sat back dragging her down on to his lap, deepening the kiss. He could taste copper from the blood in her mouth. He wanted to throw her off, to confuse her, he brought the gun up to the base of her skull but felt the low rumble of a chuckle in her throat. She pulled back, holding the magazine of the gun in her hand.

"Did you really think I was that stupid?" she licked her teeth, eyes dancing playfully and he wasn't sure how to react.  
He pulled her up on to her feet and had to laugh at the state of them, they were a bloody mess! She ran her hands through her tangled hair, which was now sticky with blood.

"You came after me, living up to your title of revenge?" he wheezed finding it difficult to breathe, the police car had caught on fire and the smoke was suffocating. His eyes caught the flash of a spark and instinctively he grabbed a hold of her, turning her away from the onslaught of the explosion, shielding her with his body as the flames ripped into his skin, he let out a blood curdling cry and when the flames died down, he collapsed.

She jumped back , the stench from his steaming, burning flesh invading her nostrils. His hands clawed at the gravel as his body braced against the pain. Michaelis forced himself to take in long jagged breaths as it suddenly was no longer an unconscious action and it took great effort to keep his lungs from failing.

Revenna kneeled in front of him and she supported his weight, his head resting in the crook of her neck, she attempted to hold on to him but his skin and muscled peeled away in her hands and she was forced to just let him lean against her as not to cause him any more pain.

"Why the Hell did you do that?" she hissed.

"You impressed me" he croaked, slumping back to look into her eyes "This is nothing, it will heal in a few days and I'd like to keep you around for a little longer" he stared up at her through his singed bangs, squinting at her while his vision was still blurry.

"Are we all just pawns to you?" she spat disgustedly

"We're all pawns Revenna, everyone uses the people around them to get what they want, either that or they let them fall, then there's nobody left standing in their way" he sprang up to his feet, swaying dangerously close to falling again but Revenna guided his hands to rest on her shoulders.

"So if you aren't gonna let me fall, what exactly are you going to 'use' me for?" she demanded but he just smiled cryptically.

'You'll want to impress me, you'll desire my approval' he thought to himself but he knew he had to manipulate her very carefully.

"I only want one thing from you-your help in tearing this city apart" her eyes flickered over his features, searching for a trace of any sinister intentions but he was more like her than she was willing to admit, he was a good actor and she would just have to keep that in mind. She was determined to keep her guard up and to never, ever, trust him.

He weighed her down and her fingers sank into his melting flesh as she helped him limp down the street, following his directions. For now, he was in no position to hurt her and she was too curious about what fate he had in mind for her...

Chapter 3 - The Tower

Revenna stared up at the dark silhouette of a building still under construction. He brought her up to the highest level and standing within the skeletal structure, the plastic sheets billowing in the wind, was a group of slayers huddled together inside of their hideout planning to regain control over the city after the asylum patients had escaped.

They were stunned upon seeing them but after recovering from their initial shock they dived for their weapons and scrambled towards them. Ripping her gun from its holster she fired three bullets and hit three men in between the eyes.

One lunged for her and she rammed her knee into his stomach, back-flipping and kicking him in the jaw then sweeped a leg underneath his feet, knocking him on to his back. From this crouching position she took out two more slayers using her gun.

Michaelis had a strong advantage over the humans even with his injuries. Like a shadow, he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room, facing their backs and hurling daggers into their skulls. He was momentarily transfixed while watching Revenna fight.

She fires bullets into their knee caps, splintering their bones which caved out from underneath them. She took great pleasure in watching their faces fill with fear as they begged for their lives. Their cries fell on deaf ears and even seemed to encourage her as she crushed their heads with her boot, smashing into them until they broke with a sickening crunch.

Suddenly a profession where you freely get to kill people made a lot more sense, although, these were slayers, they were sinners whose crimes went unpunished. He supposed in her mind that justified their deaths somehow, although she was enjoying herself far too much for them to be acts of justice.

A slayer attacked him from behind, tearing a gash into his shoulder blade, the agony faded away into aggression, Michaelis pulled the knife out by the blade not caring that it cut into his hand and spinning around he sank his teeth into the man's jugular and tore out his throat.

He fell with the trembling body on to the floor and the taste of blood in his mouth made his mind turn foggy as it brought back memories of when he killed predators in this way, to survive as a child.

Shaking his head like a sick dog, his legs felt like lead as he pulled himself up. Glancing over his shoulder at Revenna she was staring at him, her mouth hanging open.

He materialized in front of her and as she was standing on the edge of the drop, he let his fingernails sink into her throat as he tilted her back to the point where if he let her go, she would fall to her death.

She let out a garbled laugh, choking as he restricted her airway "What's the matter? I've killed whom you wanted killed and now I'm no use to you?" she screwed her eyes shut, her hands feebly trying to pull on his wrists to loosen his grip.

Using her foot she kicked up metal rod beside her on floor and rammed it into his thigh, she clung to him as he fell backwards so she wouldn't fall off the edge.

He groaned taking the metal pole in his hands, it was slick and hard to get a grip of now that it was covered in his blood and it had pierced straight through and out the other side.

Finally Revenna had to place her hands over his own and help him to remove it. He sighed in relief but not for long as the waves of agony slammed into him.

Whilst still lying on his back, he ran a blood-stained hand over his face in frustration "You and I-are really bad-f-for each other" when he spoke his words were broken, the pain was so immense that even talking caused distress.

She leaned down, hovering above him and just examining every inch of his face before leaving a chaste kiss on his lips. "Shall we burn this mother-fucker?" she asked looking around at the dead bodies surrounding them.

He let out a gravely chuckle, reaching up to caress her face "You're a little freak like me, aren't you?" she leaned into his touch a little hesitantly as this wasn't something she was familiar with. Boys couldn't hurt her the way she needed them too and this man required equal amounts of pain in order to feel anything. Pain reassured them because any other emotions were lost on them. They felt dead inside, their core was hollow and empty. Pain reminded them that they were still alive and helped them to not completely loose their sense of reality.

They stood on the rooftop of the opposite building and watched the evidence of their crimes burn. It felt good to be up here, the stench of burning bodies and smoke in the air, the darkness of the night consuming the city below and the flames raging against the sky.

Turning to the woman beside him, Revenna was in awe, she saw the beauty in chaos that he did and he imagined her expression was the same one he had been making. Against his better judgement he'd made up his mind to let her stay alive.

"Would you follow me into Hell?" he whispered, snaking an arm around her waist

"Baby-we're already there" she leaned back against his body, accepting the embrace.

Chapter 4 - The Good Doctor

Michaelis crumbled to the floor as soon as he closed the door, crawling to the shower and supporting himself on the sink as he stood.

Tearing off the tattered remnants of his shirt caused him to growl as places where the skin had fused with the cloth tore away. Crouching under the torrent of water he hissed as even the cold stream of water felt like acid, eating away at the exposed muscles. Reaching a hand over his back to inspect the damage he withdrew it immediately as he was sure he had felt bone.

He watched blood and chunks of flesh swirl down the drain as that was all he could do until Revenna returned from kidnapping a doctor.

A middle aged woman, with long dark hair, tied back in a ponytail walked into the room where she was hiding, Revenna slammed the door shut and when the woman whirled around in alarm she punched her in the jaw, knocking her back on to the ground. Grabbing the woman by the hair, the doctor caught her off guard, stabbing her in the knee with a scalpel and she fell backwards.

Revenna looked up at her, eyes wide.

"What the fuck do you want?" the doctor spat, her eyes blazing in between blue and lavender as rage overtook her. She still held up her hand in warning for her to stay back, the scalpel poised at the ready.

"I don't have time for this shit, do you know how to treat burns?" she cracked her neck and shakily pushed herself up on her feet.

'Doctor Hart' the nametag read, frowned in confusion "If you need medical assistance you don't go around attacking the people who can help you!" she shrieked furiously.

"Look at me, do you really think the person I'm helping is a law-abiding citizen?!" she snapped, gesturing to herself, clothes covered in blood and the many injuries she was sporting.

Dr Hart realized that was why she hadn't brought the person in "Where are they?" it was Revenna's turn to look dumbfounded.

"You mean you're actually WILLING to help him?" she asked in disbelief, Hart rolled her eyes, which had settled down to an indigo colour.

She very deliberately made a show of draining the electricity from the room, drawing it into a ball of light in her hands, sparks sizzling across her skin and leaving an iridescent scars running up the length of her arms. She was a witch!

"I don't care if you're a monster and I won't ask questions about what happened to you because most people would be worried for themselves if they were in as bad a shape as you. I can only guess that means your friend is much worse and we're wasting time" she raided the cupboards for the supplies she would need asking Revenna about all of the injuries they had sustained.

Revenna brought her back to his apartment and when they opened the door they found him sitting back on his haunches while perched on the coach. His hands were pressed together at his mouth making him appear as if he were deep in thought. He wasn't wearing a shirt and drops of blood and water fell from his hair and on to his chest.

Relief was short lived, initially Hart thought that perhaps he wasn't as broken as she'd been led to believe, that delusion was quickly shattered when she requested that he stand for her to get a better look at his wounds. His back was a patchwork of skin, muscles, tendons and bone. His thigh and shoulder had been shredded, his shin slashed, bones had been broken, someone had actually stabbed him in the back after her had been burned.

Now she really didn't want to know what the hell they had been doing before they tried to kidnap her. Revenna sat on the coach opposite them and watched her try her best to patch Michaelis up asking him "How the hell are you still conscious? Or alive for that matter? You should be in hospital, it will take months for your body to repair itself!" she cried hysterically.

He half-smiled "It will take about a week, Revenna isn't as fortunate, I asked her to bring you here so you could help her" both woman stared at him shocked.

"You can't be serious?! Look at yourself!" Revenna barked back, agitated

Michaelis pushed the doctor away "I should be dead right now, there's nothing really she can do" he replied stubbornly.

With great reluctance, she allowed Dr Hart to stitch the gash in between her ribs closed, wincing as her broken bones burned in protest.

"I'm sorry" he felt compelled to say in response to her discomfort and the fact that her pale skin had turned purple and blue from all the bruising.

While examining her Dr Hart noticed many old white scars, especially on her arms and legs which looked as if the skin had been torn jaggedly. "What happened here?" she questioned a particularly nasty one.

"My sister snapped my bone in two and it punctured through the skin" her response left the doctor speechless.

Revenna looked between Michaelis and Hart as they were looking at her strangely for some sort of explanation.

"All of these scars are from my sister, she would take me out to the woods to 'play' when we were children, then drag my ass back to our parents and lie about how I'd hurt myself. They thought I was a psychopath because as soon as I was old enough I beat her within an inch of her life. So they committed me to a mental hospital". She shrugged and it was obvious that even she didn't realise how much that had effected her.

Even Michaelis thought to himself 'Well that explains a lot'.

"If I ever meet your sister, I'll fucking finish the job" Hart snarled, disgusted how anyone could do that to their own family.

Michaelis had to smirk at her reaction, it was always the same. Everyone he had ever met was always so horrified when they heard about true suffering for the first time. It didn't even surprise him anymore.

"I'm afraid we're all defined by those experiences doctor. The ones which leave scars, whether you're able to see them or not" her face flashed with empathy. These sorts of emotions were something he'd never know.

"Your lives seem to be so cruel, is there always someone trying to kill you?"

Revenna piped in with "Only each other" batting her eyelids innocently.

Hart sighed, exhausted, running her hand over her face "You did this to yourselves?",

"Well the burn was his own fault, the rest was pretty much mine, what he did to me was self-defence" she admitted. "I was trying to kill him so I didn't exactly do a very good job considering he's still alive" she justified.

"This is why I'm a human doctor, they don't get themselves into this much shit!" Revenna and Michaelis sat smiling at each other without breaking eye contact.

"Well now that that's over with perhaps you should return to your patients" he suggested though it was more of a warning not to stick around whilst he was still offering her the chance to leave with her life.

Hart was intelligent enough to pick up on his true meaning and didn't hesitate to pack up and walk out the door

"If we ever need you again-"he began but she cut him off

"Kidnap another bloody doctor!".

Chapter 5 - Akuma

His other followers, those expendable faceless pawns didn't care for Revenna very much, they'd sneer at her as she walked by and whisper behind her back like petulant children. They were all grouped together in one room, discussing the next course of action after they'd reclaimed the city for themselves.

She walked in and all eyes turned glaring angrily at her as she joined his side. Of course they knew, it was obvious she wasn't just working for him, it was more like he was working for her now. Whatever she said, he listened and he obeyed, he showed her what he neglected to offer anyone else, respect. And they hated her for it.

One of them dared to voice what they had all been thinking "What is that bitch doin' here Michaelis?". They stood in a half-embrace, his arm around her waist and hers' resting over his shoulder. She had been whispering in his ear with a sick, twisted smile on her face which matched his own.

When the man spoke their expressions turned cold and they looked at him not as if they were addressing a person but as if they were examining the dirt beneath their boots.

Michaelis' body was consumed by black smoke, his only visible feature were his menacing blue eyes. He reappeared directly in front of the man and stuck a knife into his jugular. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that over the garbled choking" he spat venomously.

Revenna was the only one on the room who wasn't horrified, she stood with a crazed smile plastered on her face, fidgeting with giddy delight as he split the man's neck open. His body shook violently and he clutched Michaelis' arms in a feeble attempt to stop his assault.

"That 'bitch' belongs to me-that means if you disrespect her, you're disrespecting me. Have I made it clear to yet what will happen as a consequence?!" he snarled, sawing vigorously through the bone and ripping the head from the shoulders, letting the body fall limp to the ground.

He threw the offending object at their feet, Revenna let out a wild cackle from the back of the room where she sat. They staggered back in revulsion, some barely containing the urge to vomit.

"Get the fuck out!" they trampled over one another to run through the open door.

Materializing in front of Revenna he caressed her face, smearing blood on to her cheek as he still clutched the knife in the other hand. "I have a surprise for you" he said, pulling her up and dragging her along behind him in excitement.

"Is it blood, whips and chains?" she asked, her eyes darkened with desire.

"Later" he laughed, though Revenna pouted in disappointment so he cupped her chin and gave her a brief kiss to appease her.

Michaelis had transformed the 'asylum' into a prison for those whose crimes deserved the same torture the monsters were subjected to. Though because they were human, it very rarely didn't end in death.

As they walked past the cells where slayers writhed and screamed in agony, Michaelis glanced behind him uncertainly but Revenna wasn't fazed in the slightest. He brought her down to the maximum security wing where only one 'patient' resided.

"After you" he gestured for her to go first. She was sceptical, wondering if he was trying to kill her again, she decided if that were the case she'd hunt him down later and skin him. It wasn't as if he wouldn't survive and recover.

She stepped through the doorway and at first she wasn't sure what she was looking at. The room was so dark the thing cowering in the corner just looked like a shadowy blur but whilst watching its jerky, slowly drawn out movements as it crawled to the centre of the room she realised that was exactly what it was!

Michaelis closed the door and stood close behind her. "What is it?" she asked in a hushed whisper

"These creatures-" he began while sweeping her hair over one shoulder, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end responsively. "Are mindless, they possess no free will or self-awareness. Their only desire in their meaningless lives is to protect whomever they're bonded to. They are the shadows every living creature casts."

He kissed the crook of her neck "Even you have one" she glanced at the floor where the light was blocked out by a monstrous shape that was cast by both Revenna and Michaelis as they stood in an embrace. When he backed away from her it disappeared.

"Why is it doing that?" she asked curiously, Michaelis sighed, running a hand through his hair

"Well some people believe that shadows can merge, especially when-" he abruptly cut himself off not wishing to say anymore but one look from Revenna warned him not to keep her in the dark. "When you've found your soulmate" he spat the word distastefully and regretted bringing it up for the way she was looking at him.

"Don't get any ideas about us" he said in a threatening tone, though when addressing Revenna it could also be interpreted as flirtatious.

"Wait, then where is the person he's bonded with?" she whipped back around and gasped as the creature was standing right behind her! It didn't have a face, only whispy black tendrils of smoke covered its form.

Michaelis smiled proudly "I have separated them, by force of course and it wasn't easy but out there is a little boy who's without his shadow, this thing is no longer bound by that connection, it doesn't quite know what to do with itself at the moment. This is the first time it has been aware of anything else, emotions are um- confusing at the best of times, imagine living your whole life without them and then suddenly they just consume you"

She shivered in disgust as she truly knew what it was like to feel empty and she was comfortable with that, it would drive her even more insane if suddenly she could start to feel.

"What are you planning on doing with him?" she asked to change the subject.

"He may be disconnected with the living but shadows share a consciousness, like a hive mind, he still has access to that but now he also possess free will" he wrapped his arms around her "Imagine if every human being on this planet suddenly cast shadows which only harmed instead of helped them. You can't escape from your own shadow. So say that drives them to insanity-"

A sadistic smile crept over his lips "Now what are you left with? A world which accepts that no man is a master of his own mind because you and I, my dear, we thrive off of chaos and they burn under its intensity. The monsters will survive and the humans will die" she hummed contently, closing her eyes and imagined the raging fires and the hopeless screams.

She turned around her arms draped over his neck "What a beautiful paradise that would be",

"Because we'd be liberated from fear and tyranny?" she laughed in response

"Oh with you still around, those things would still exist" she taunted while biting her bottom lip. "How will you convince him to work with us?" she balanced on her tiptoes so she could whisper in his ear.

"Through helping him to feel and become more of a person rather than one of the masses" he addressed the shadow directly. "Giving him a name, an identity, another sense of purpose beyond being a slave" he grinded his teeth while recalling a particularly unpleasant memory.

She noticed his resentment though didn't question it. "How about Akuma?" she suggested walking up beside him.

"Demon?" he smiled approvingly. "I could kiss you",

"You can kiss me, or kill me, or fuck me, or all three, maybe not in that order, maybe in that order, whatever you're into" she winked balancing on her toes to kiss his cheek before sauntering out of the cell, leaving him alone with the shadow.

It stared blankly back at him, without eyes to see but it could sense his presence. "I'm afraid not all the sensations you'll experience will be pleasant ones, you'll learn that the hard way. I expect emotions will be the same, though I don't have a lot of experience with those myself" the creature cocked its head to the side, confused.

Akuma shuffled back into the corner curling into a ball and Michaelis thought he could distinguish what were sobs. He sighed, wishing for once to be able to feel some sense of compassion but he was as ever indifferent towards its inner turmoil. Deciding to leave it in peace to calm down.

Chapter 6 - Madness

Akuma assumed this was what madness felt like, his chest swelled to the capacity that it might explode, one second he may be laughing for no reason other than he felt 'happy' the next he'd be so angry he felt like killing someone. Above all, he felt lost, like a part of him had been torn out and he was left with a gaping hole inside of himself.

He'd been locked inside of this prison cell for an inestimable amount of time but it felt like forever. He'd never been consciously aware of how slowly things moved before and the time he'd spent with his bonded when he'd never been aware of such things was becoming a distant, foggy memory.

"Oh God" he sobbed in his tormented state, dragging his body across the floor to the broken mirror in the corner of the room, he had noticed his reflection was changing day by day, he was becoming more recognisable as human, his skin was ashen and transparent like a smoky ghost but he had silver eyes and a pale face, with a long, thin nose and thin chapped lips.

The door to his cell swung open and the raven-haired woman with a skull's face walked inside, a surge of unprovoked fury coursed through his body, influencing him to change at her and slam her into the metal wall, slamming her head into the rusty panelling.

She twisted her body out of his grasp and forced her knee up into his ribs, winding him in the process, he crumbled to the ground, choking for breath.

"Baby, I admire your enthusiasm but the boss will get mad if anyone besides himself hurts me" she chuckled, wincing as she raised her hand to her head and when she examined it, realised he had withdrawn blood.

"Oh well, not like he's going to hurt you, you're important to him-for now anyway" she knelt in front of him with a mocking smile on her face. "For your sake, let's hope you can deliver, ok?".

Standing up she briefly left the room and returned with a bundle in her arms "What's that?" he asked sceptically but she just rolled her eyes at him.

"Clothes stupid, you, me and Michaelis are going out on the town tonight, tear it up, cause some havoc, for that-you need to get dressed" she threw them at his feet and left him alone once more. Sighing, since he knew by now that he didn't have a say in the matter, he did as he was told.

As it was he could barely conjure up an image of the outside world in his mind, he needed to get back out there. That man, the shadow who was hiding behind the disguise of a man had told him that his life had meaning and purpose now instead of wasting it protecting humans, he despised them and encouraged Akuma to destroy them instead. His emotions changed so rapidly with what the woman described as an 'extreme personality' it wouldn't be too hard for him to get in to the mind set of committing murder. Though the notion made him feel uneasy, like they were using him because his lack of control would over ride his common sense.

He felt adrenaline slamming into him, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably, the rush of blood in his ears and his heartbeat pounding inside of his skull. Akuma was unprepared for how good it felt to kill. To unleash all of this anger building up inside of him.

"You're really getting the hang of this" Michaelis smiles impressed, his face was splattered with blood and this was becoming a common look for him.

"Looks like we got ourselves a new partner baby" Revenna skipped over to them and pressed the handle of a knife into Akuma's hand "And the night's just begun" she giggled spinning on her heels and bending to pick up a metal bat from the ground before bashing in the skull of the slayer who had been lying on the floor.

"Only a few strays left Akuma, what a blessing it will be once the slayers are finally extinct" the shadow was about to reply but he was cut off by an explosion of fire inches in front of Revenna, sending her body flying backwards. Michaelis pulled her up on her feet in time to make out the silhouette of a man standing in the flames.

Akuma felt his throat close up with anxiety as a familiar pull washed over him, drawing him closer to the figure and he knew immediately who it was although he could barely remember him now, his bonded, Sonam. He was a witch, an elemental who controlled fire and if there was one thing he did remember was that he was extremely dangerous.

"Akuma!" Michaelis hissed "You don't have to be a slave to him anymore. You can be free, if you kill him" dread and guilt twisted inside of him at the thought of killing someone he'd been born to protect. Maybe these awful, confusing feelings would go away if he was gone, he certainly hoped so.

Akuma vanished from sight and reappeared nose to nose with Sonam, the young witch was startled and wasn't completely sure what he was looking at. Sonam felt the blistering stab of a knife to the gut. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" the shadow man was pleading in his ear as he supported his weight.

The fire licked at his translucent skin and Sonam realised with fear and alarm that he wasn't burning, he couldn't hurt him like he'd hurt so many others. Perhaps in another situation he'd be relieved but this man was trying to kill him.

Sonam wrestled out of his embrace and punched him in the jaw, sending the boy sprawling on his back. He clawed at the gushing tear in his stomach, trying to stem the blood flow.

Retrieving the knife which had clattered on to the roof, Akuma staggered up on to his feet, raising the weapon in warning. Sonam's knees caved in, he was loosing blood fast and it was making him weak. Akuma pulled back his hair and raised the edge of the knife to his throat.

Staring down into his eyes, he felt a fresh stab of guilt overtake him, he knew it was inbuilt into his instincts to protect this boy no matter what and he hated that he still felt compelled to drop the knife.

"Do I know you?" he gasped, blood began to drip from his lips.

Akuma got down on one knee to be eye-level with him "I'm afraid our relationship has always been completely one-sided. I would protect you and you never even knew I existed" he heard bitterness entre his own voice as he spoke.

Sonam clutched at his shoulder, trying to remain upright, trying desperately to remain conscious as black spots clouded his vision.

All of a sudden the witch heard a frustrated growl and peaked open his eyes to see the shadow hurl the knife angrily off of the roof, running both of his hands through his blue hair in defeat.

"I'm sorry but I had no control over that" the witch shook his head, regaining focus "I never asked to be protected. Monsters like me deserve to die" his tone darkened in disgust.

"Don't say that!" Akuma spat viciously, "If that's what you believe than you're wrong" he wondered idly if he was starting to sound more like Michaelis and shuddered at the thought.

Picking him up as gently as he could, Akuma threw one last glance over his shoulder, locking eyes with Revenna and Michaelis who were standing on the opposite side of the flames and they were furious. He couldn't be like them, he didn't want to be like them. This person he was carrying, he may not have had a choice in becoming attached to him but he no longer cared. If he really had free will then why couldn't he choose to protect Sonam from them? If they cared like they proclaimed to, they wouldn't have tried to force him into another form of in slavery.

Akuma carried the boy who had now fallen unconscious, due to blood loss, to the only other person he knew he could trust-Hart.

Chapter 7 - Agony

Michaelis burst through the doors of the 'Asylum' and his followers knew well enough to stay the Hell away from him when he was like this. He dragged Revenna behind him, his hand around her wrist in a vice-like grip "Slow down!" she squealed and he threw her into the cell they shared, locking the door behind them.

"What the Hell went wrong Revenna?!" he snarled "I spent months coaxing him into developing a mind of his own and what does he go and do? Go back to his master, pleading like a dog!" he snapped and she winced, drawing away from his temper instinctively.

"And what have I got to show for it? Nothing!" he slammed his fist down on the table shattering the wood into splinters.

"Baby-" Revenna sighed, picking splinters out of her hair "Are you forgetting how good you are?" she wrapped her arms around his waist "Manipulation is what you do best, forget the kid and find someone else who can advance your goals" she spoke gently to appease him "And if you like, we can always go make an example of him. Remind this city what it is they're afraid of, not a man but a shadow who can hunt and torture and kill anyone who betrays him".

Michaelis wound his fingers in her hair, tilting her head back and giving her a crooked smile "You must've been a gift from Hell" he said with a wink and she threw back her head laughing.

"Baby all you had to do was be your twisted self and I was yours" she pecked his lips before selecting a crowbar and some jump-starter cables from their tool box. He cocked his head to the side questioningly "I thought we could have some fun with electricity tonight" she giggled flirtatiously, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

With his hand on the base of her spine, he stooped down, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

They scouted the city in search of him, Michaelis blended easily into the shadows, flitting from place to place and when he found the boy, he dragged his ass back to the charred remnant of the tower.

Revenna was waiting for them there and when the was deposited at her feet she took a sharp swig with a crowbar, cracking something in his back.

Akuma howled in pain, his eyes blinding with tears as he forced himself to stand. The woman took another blow across his face and he felt the corner of his mouth tear open. Biting his tongue against the pain and pushing himself off of the floor, he attacked her, sinking his teeth into her neck and she cried out.

Michaelis hit him over the head with his gun and he stumbled back releasing her "You fucking bastard!" she growled, her hand soaked in blood while pressed against her skin.

"Two for two" he retorted, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Michaelis came up behind him, a knife scraping in warning across his spine " Now, there's only one animal in here so I don't expect you to start acting like one as well".

"Two animals, Michaelis" they heard the click of a gun and the barrel hovering at the back of his skull.

"You must be pretty stupid to come back here in your condition Sonam, the kid cut you up pretty good" he snickered.

"Give me a reason-",

"Oh please!" he scoffed "If you were going to shoot me I'd be dead already" he span around, wrenching the gun from his hand and firing into his arm.

"Your father will be missing you so why don't you go run home to daddy?" in a blind fit of rage, Sonam charged at him, for his own safety, Akuma pried the gun away from Michaelis and it slid across the floor.

He only chuckled "If you think it's a fair fight, hand-on-hand, your mistaken" before head butting Sonam and punching him in the gut, ripping open the freshly sewn stitches.

"Akuma, I'm not done with you yet-" Revenna took a swing but this time he managed to duck out of arms reach.

"What is wrong with you Sonam, hmm? I'm trying to liberate monsters and you're holding me back, do you like to be treated like a dog, is that it? You were locked in a cage since you were a child" he laughed at the boys horrified reaction. "I would've thought that you of all people would understand. Then again-" he slammed his shoulder into him, knocking him off of his feet and grabbing a hold of the witch's throat, brought him down hard on to the concrete. His bones grinding with a sickening crunch. "Killing you would be just as satisfying".

Revenna smashed Akuma's head against the banister on the stairwell. "You made a mistake! You don't screw over psychopaths!" she shrieked, kicking him back into the cold metal bars. Drawing out a knife she ran at him and he caught her wrist as the blade was a mere millimetre from his eye.

He lifted her over his head and she fell down the flight of stairs, her stomach slamming into the railing on the stairwell below before she hit the ground. She gasped as her abdomen coiled with white hot pain, like claws digging into the flesh. She squirmed, tears slipping down her cheeks and fear welling up inside of her chest. She felt warm blood, saturate her clothing and oh God, she'd never felt pain like it. As if she were being disembowelled. She let out the most horrendous, blood curdling scream.

Michaelis was caught off guard, his eyes flying over to where Akuma stood, leaning over the banister and looking down at her in horror. An uppercut to Sonam's jaw, knocked him unconscious and Michaelis stormed over, dragging the shadow away before jumping the railing and landing next to Revenna.

He cradling her in his arms as he demanded to know what was wrong but immediately he felt his hands were slick with blood. "Revenna-" he had to clear his throat to hide the quiver in his voice, he'd never admit it to anyone, not even to her but he was panicking.

"I'm-I'm s-sorr-y!" she whimpered, her body twitching with spasms of pain.

"Sorry? Sorry for what, I don't understand" he said desperately.

"I think-I think I lost the baby" his heart almost stopped beating, a taloned hand grasping his neck and choking the cry which almost escaped his throat. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! He hadn't heard correctly, it couldn't be true, how was it fair that at the same time he should learn that he was a father was the same time he was learning that he had lost his child altogether.

He scooped her up in his arms, throwing a deathly glare above him and Akuma knew, he knew that Michaelis would never be finished with him until he was dead.

He took her broken body to a hospital, where he wasn't permitted to see her anymore because they weren't married and he had to wait until after they had done all they could to know if she was going to be alright.

His body felt so heavy with the weight of grief, he leaned against the wall for support. Right now, in this moment, he was terrified, This was not something which easily came to him, he hadn't felt so afraid since he was a child. Losing her, he couldn't even bare thinking about. He sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands, willing himself to go back to not feeling anything and least then it didn't feel as if someone was ripping his heart out with their teeth.

Through the gap in his fingers he saw a pair of bare feet walk up to him, gazing into the eyes of Dr Hart, he was more than a little surprised. She was wearing a hospital gown and her inky black hair cascaded over her shoulders. Today her eyes were a serene shade of lavender.

He tried feebly to wipe away the tears but she only smiled kindly, kneeling on the floor in front of him. "Forgive me but-you look as if your world is falling a part" he smiled bitterly at her. "What makes you say that?" he asked sarcastically.

"I can't promise you that it will get easier, some days it'll be all you can think about, even after things get better and the Earth isn't crumbling away at your feet" she took his hand "You never forget loosing a child" he frowned.

"How did you know?" she avoided looking him in the eye, staring into her lap instead,

"Did you-loose-" she finally met his curious gaze, her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet.

"I did-a long time ago. It's-" she rubbed her face, sniffling "It must be much worse for you-I can't even imagine-" her voice was wobbly "Do you know how Revenna's doing?" she asked suddenly concerned.

He couldn't speak or think about her without breaking down in front of this woman, he barely knew so he just shook his head solemnly.

"Do you want some company or would you prefer to be on your own?" she enquired but he shook his head vehemently

"No! God no, please-" she smiled empathetically. They spent the next few hours wandering around the hospital until a doctor told him he could see her now.

Inside the sterile hospital room, where everything was white, Revenna immediately drew his eyes. She looked as if she might be dead but the monitors beeped and whirled and assured him otherwise.

He joined her bedside and stroked her tangled hair away from her face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, letting the tears fall freely, he was alone with her, the only person he could trust and confide in without fear of judgement.

Her eyes parted, though they were only slits, aggravated by the bright lights overhead. She breathed wheezily and brought a hand up to caress his face while mouthing his name. Her eyes widened and she bolted upright in bed, clinging at the fabric covering her stomach, her body trembled as sobs consumed her. though she made no sound the sight of her in agonizing pain, left him heart-broken.

He held on to her as she silently wept and poured out all of her vulnerabilities to him. Death was such an illusive thing that he often wished it would just claim him but that could never happen, not anymore. Not if it meant her feeling the same way he did for the past few hours, thinking he was going to loose her.

There was one thing he could do to make it all better, one thing he could promise her and that was he was going to make them pay, torture out of revenge was something he'd never tried, He didn't even know if he'd enjoy it half as much but they needed to punish them for robbing her of her child. For nearly killing her. For Goddam nearly killing him out of heartbreak.

Forget whatever plans they had made, they weren't important anymore, he was going to watch their family suffer as they burned before their eyes.

Chapter 8 - His World Turned Upside Down

Their car shredded the concrete walkways, pedestrians diving on to the road out of instinct and either way many of them were hit. They were being chased in hot pursuit by police patrol cars, they were breaking the speed limit after all, not to mention the girl they'd kidnapped.

She was lying in the back seat with her hands and feet bound and she had duct tape over her mouth. She was young and pretty and the poor thing had tears running down her pale, freckled cheeks.

Revenna smoothed the girl's tangled blonde hair behind her ear and said soothingly "Don't worry sweetie, we're not after you, we just need your help to find Akuma and then we'll let you go", Michaelis made a sharp turn which made Revenna gasp and cling to her seat so that she wasn't thrown sideways, the girl wasn't so lucky, hitting her head with a muffled yelp.

Michaelis kissed the back of Revenna's hand, keeping his eyes on the road whilst drawing circles with his thumb. She found his behaviour odd, lately he'd been uncharacteristically affectionate towards her, ever since-

A lump formed in her throat and she felt her eyes grow wet with tears but she regained herself in time so as not to cry, though Michaelis had noticed, glancing off to the side in concern.

"WATCH OUT!" she screamed, he turned his eyes back on to the road, slamming on the breaks and swerving the car to try and avoid hitting the oncoming shadow creature that was charging towards them. They smacked right into it, the car flipping into the air, causing very little damage to the black panther.

The car came smashing down on to the road, shattering the windscreen and battering the three occupants inside the car as it rolled to a stop. Michaelis was dragged out by the collar and slammed against the car which was now lying on it's roof.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" the werecat snarled, now in his human form. Michaelis rolled his eyes at Alexis' predictability

"She's in the back" Alexis threw him on his back and carefully lifted the girl from the wreckage, she looked so tiny in his arms that he found it almost laughable.

The wolf was trembling as he set her down on her feet and she clinged to him in distress. "You have a score to settle with Akuma you take it out on him, but you do NOT go after Ophelia!" he barked, his blue eyes, blazing furiously.

"Your little girlfriend is of no consequence to me Alexis, she can die for all I care" he heard a low growl rumble from his former follower's throat. Ophelia stared at him through her bangs, her misty blue eyes, alight with hatred.

"Akuma has been adopted into her family, she's practically his sister, who else was I supposed to go after for information Alex? Of course I'd choose the meek little mutt-ow" he ventured closer than the girl was comfortable with and she lashed out, biting his hand as he reached out to touch her.

Alex smiled in amusement "You came at me with bloody chloroform Michaelis! I swear if you or your girlfriend ever come near me again, the neck thing I sink my teeth into will be your neck!" Alexis had to hold her back as her temper escalated.

Realisation dawned on Michaelis and he rounded the car to the passenger's side door, kneeling to find Revenna, unconscious and hanging upside down in her seat with blood dripping from a crack in her skull. He caught her as he cut through the seatbelt and laid her out on the road.

Touching the spilt in her forehead tentatively. Ophelia and Alexis shared a worried glance "I'll call Signe" she said urgently, taking Alex's phone.

Panic surged within Michaelis, it had only been a few weeks since he had almost lost her and now here they were all over again, tears blinded his eyes and he felt as if he were choking on his own grief.

He scooped her up in his arms and accompanied by the wolf and panther, he took her to a hospital where they knew they could find help.

Lying her body down on a hospital bed, Doctor Signe Hart frowned in disapproval "Did you do this to her?" she asked accusingly.

"Actually this was my fault" Alex admitted and he winced as she shot him a scornful look.

"I'll do the best that I can on the outside, but she may need a brain scan, she could have sustained, brain damage". Michaelis screwed his eyes closed, dreading the prospect. "I need to work, that means you three need to leave" reluctantly he followed Alex and Ophelia out into the waiting room. Though he decided it was all too much for him and decided to get some air instead. He waited on the hospital steps, not caring in the least if it were raining and his clothes were soaked through.

He couldn't keep putting him self through this, he felt as if he were breaking a part inside and although he hated to admit it, he was the one responsible for everything that had happened to her. One day she might not be so lucky, she would always be in danger of being killed, either by himself or someone else as long as they were together.

He wasn't even aware of the time passing, though the cold bit mercilessly into his skin, his muscles aching in protest. He wasn't even aware of Dr Hart walking up behind him until she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Would you like to come inside? She's stable, however she did sustain a significant head injury. I can't say for sure to what extent it has affected her until she wakes up" she explained gently, guiding him by the hand to the room where Revenna was resting.

He smiled bitterly at the distasteful memory of the last time they were here. He sat on the edge of the bed, observing how peaceful she was while sleep. His fingers brushed against her cheek and tailed down to her lips which were parted ever so slightly. They were pale and cracked, God she looked so sick, his final confirmation that he was toxic to her, mentally and physically.

He leaned over her and parted with a kiss though immediately he felt her recoil away from him, he felt a sharp sting as she slapped him across the cheek and he staggered back in shock, wiping the blood from his split lip.

"Revenna?" he croaked, confused. She had bolted out of bed and was standing in the corner of the room, as far away from him as possible, while holding the blanket, wrapped tightly around her in protection.

"Don't you dare come near me! Don't you ever touch me again! I HATE you!" she shrieked, trembling with fear and pure loathing, his heart lurched at her words though she wasn't making any sense.

"Look what you've made me become!" she sobbed in disgust. "I can feel so much, it hurts!" her hand flew up to the bandage on her head. He stormed out of the room and seized Dr Hart by the elbow and dragging her into the room for an explanation.

"Don't let him anywhere near me!" she begged, placing the doctor in between them.

"Revenna, calm down, you trusted Michaelis before" she tried reasoning with her

"He's been manipulating me! I was so blind before, I couldn't see it" tears were streaming down her face. "JUST GET HIM OUT!".

In the hallway, Signe and Michaelis leaned against opposite walls, facing each other "Well at least she remembers me" he laughed hollowly "Perhaps that's not such a good thing".

Signe sighed "The impact caused trauma to her brain, her personality has changed, she doesn't see eye to eye with you anymore, right now, she's thinking like a sane person" he grimaced.

"After everything heals, will she be my Revenna again?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't think so, Michaelis , her mind was broken before by her sister. Now I think it's reset itself" all of a sudden an awful idea struck him. Of course she wasn't born insane, she was reshaped that way and he realised that if he ever wanted her back, he was going to have to break her mind all over again.

Chapter 9 - Breaking Boundaries

Michaelis concealed himself within the shadows, the rain came battering down and soaked him through to the skin whilst he stood in an alleyway in the dead of night. He couldn't care less that she'd told him to stay away, here he was, watching her as she bounded down the steps of the police station, hollering goodbye to her co-workers. He frowned as she was concealing her tattoos under layers of white makeup.

He followed her, keeping a safe distance between them so as not to raise any suspicion. When she turned into a dark passageway, he cornered her, materialising to block her path and she almost slammed into him.

Revenna gasped with fright, tripping backwards and nearly falling if he hadn't wrapped his arms around her to steady her balance. She twisted away from his grasp, pushing against his chest and he caught her wrist in a vice-like grip when she tried to slap him.

"Well you haven't lost your ferocity, at least that's a promising start" he said with a cutting edge to his tone, displeased altogether at the fact that she was fighting him instead of accepting his embrace.

"I don't want any part in any of your plans Michaelis!" she spat venomously "Give up, I'm not HER, she's dead!" she yelped as he forced her against a wall, striking her across the cheek and he had to steady her as the force knocked her off her feet.

"I hope that's not true for your sake. You have all of Revenna's memories, so you know exactly what I'll do to you if you're no use to me" he snarled, grabbing her face and staring very intensely into her brown eyes, which gleamed with terror. "I would try everything I could if I were you, to convince me that you aren't a lost cause" she screwed her eyes shut as she felt the tip of a knife scrape the skin underneath her shirt.

When she opened them and looked directly into his eyes, tears spilled down her cheek, which was red from where he had struck her and he felt an unexpected pang of guilt.

He reached out to caress the spot but she angered him further by turning her head, rejecting his touch.

Her grabbed a fistful of her, forcing her head back against the wall "What is it about you that infuriates me so much? The fact that you blatantly insult my affections or the fact that you are the same woman, yet undeniably the exact opposite to everything she was?" he felt something sharp pierce through his skin, shredding his muscles until it burst through his shoulder blade shattering the bone into shards, further tearing at his flesh.

He was thrown to the ground like a rag doll, clutching his injury and staring bewildered at the extension of bone with protruded from her wrist before it slid silently underneath her skin once more. She very rarely used her power to manipulate her own bones and had NEVER used it against him. The pain was excruciating, though didn't compare to how hollowness he felt. She was so far gone from the woman she used to be, he feared that his Revenna really was dead.

She lifted her chin up defiantly, rage blooming within her eyes "I'm no longer yours to manipulate and you will never touch me again or else I'll rip you apart" she said so calmly, he had no doubt that she was serious.

She left him there, bleeding on the ground and didn't even look back as she walked away. He only smiled, because he had seen a glimmer of her old self for just a second but it was enough for him to roll on to his stomach and push himself up on his feet and laugh. Watching her body grow ridged with tension, she dared to sneak a glance over her shoulder.

He appeared inches in front of her face and whispered "The game's not over yet" Michaelis kissed her possessively, pressing her body against his, though she tried to break away, he only parted once he was satisfied. He was letting her know that he was still in control, that she had no influence over her own life. Her heart twisted painfully with conflicted emotions, she could remember loving him but she was disgusted by him now.

He vanished, dissolving into the shadows and leaving her to sob in anguish. Why did he always have to play so cruelly?

Chapter 10 - REVENGE

Revenna applied a few heavy layers of white paint to conceal her tattoos for her date tonight. She pulled her black mane into a high-ponytail and smoothed out the creases in her dress for the third time. She was nervous as this was the first relationship she'd had after Michaelis. If you could call what they had a relationship.

She heard a knock at the door and excitement outweighed her anxieties as she jogged over to the door and flung it open.

Her heart sank with dread when Michaelis barged into the room.

He sighed dejectedly, resenting how much effort she made to appear normal when the reverse was the truth.

"What do you want?" She demanded, her voice trembling.

"To bring you a gift" he pulled out a metal bat from behind his back and she recoiled in fright.

He laughed "There's no need to be so skittish. It's for you" he threw it to her and she stared back at him, perplexed while holding the cold metal object in her hands.

"Why are you giving this to me?" She asked suspiciously.

"Because you're going to need it" he answered curtly, grabbing her wrist and dragging her down the hallway behind him.

"I told you I don't want to play your games anymore!" She cried desperately, he spun around and she collided with his chest.

"This isn't a game, it's a gift. Really it's revenge for something that was taken from you." He explained though she shook her head adamantly.

"I can't go anywhere with you. I have a date tonight" he frowned but then his face twisted into a malicious smile.

"Come with me and I won't kill him" he sneered, tugging her along as if she were a petulant child.

He took her to an abandoned warehouse on the opposite side of the city, she treading carefully, whilst trying to remember her way back if things turned sour.

"Why did you bring me here?" she shivered, hugging herself as the cold pierced her skin, which was prickling with goose bumps.

He paused to drape his suit jacket over her slim shoulders and led her by the hand into the centre of the building, where an overhead light illuminated the silhouette of a figure, though his body was still shrouded in shadows. She halted on the spot, horrified as beneath the smoke was a young man, beaten and broken. There was a crackle in the air and she could smell singed hair and burnt skin. He'd been electrocuted.

She whipped around to confront Michaelis "What is this?"

"Please don't play stupid, you're well acquainted with Akuma and you're intelligent enough to have figured out by now why we're here" he snapped impatiently. "What's the matter?" he smirked mockingly "Did you really think there was any ounce of humanity left in me that perhaps I wasn't the monster you remember?".

"He almost killed you" he whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear "Now if you were yourself you wouldn't be hesitating to make him suffer for it" he turned his back on her as if he couldn't look at her.

"Not to mention your child" he struck a cord as her face contorted in agony

"Stop it!" she said forcefully though her eyes welled up with grief.

"Does it still hurt?" he caressed her stomach and she trembled smacking him hard across the cheek.

"Don't you dare talk about that" she spoke in a deathly cold tone.

"It was my child too, remember? Don't punish me-" he turned her face to look towards Akuma "Punish the one who's responsible"

"It was just an accident!" she cried through her tears.

"Doesn't that make it all the more worse? It died for nothing, it was senseless, pathetic" he spat in disgust. "I was supposed to die as an infant" she snapped her head backward to look up at him in shock.

"My father took his hunting knife-" he produced a blade and smoothed the flat side against her cheeks, leaving a cold trail in its wake . "And carved my mother's stomach open. He was disgusted by me because he discovered that she was a witch. I was rescued of course by another monster, one who was practically an animal, she'd never had any human contact. So I was raised to fight like a beast to survive. Now you look at me and you see something grotesque but this-" he indicated to himself "Is all I've ever known. You came along and you turned my whole world on its head. Because you weren't afraid of me. Because to you I wasn't crazy, everything I said or did made perfect sense" he ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes in frustration.

"He took something from me!" he screamed "And the only way I know how to respond is to make him hurt, like he hurt me and-Like. He. Hurt. You" his temper rose with every syllable as it dawned on him once again that it was no use, that he had lost her if she didn't prove to him that she could change.

Revenna examined the bat in her hands and twirled it, feeling the smooth metal rub against her fingertips. She let her arm fall to the side and dug her fingernails in her palm. She could feel rage clawing at her beneath the skin and with a swing curving through the air she struck him in the abdomen, the shadow curling over and coughing up blood. She was relentless in her assault, striking him in the same spot, again and again and again and again. The anger just wouldn't dissipate, it didn't make her feel any better, out of breath and consumed by misery, she collapsed on to her knees and quickly covered her mouth to drown out a sob before it could escape her lips.

"I'm sorry" she heard Akuma croak from above her, he coughed wheezily and his whole body shuddered.

She heard Michaelis walking up behind her so she sprang upright, spinning on her heel and placing a palm over his chest, commanding "STOP!" he gawked at her impressed and surprised. She had a look of determination as she said calmly "You are not going to kill him, you are going to take him home" he gazed into her eyes searchingly though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Silently and to her relief he obeyed her. Unhooking the chain from the ceiling and balancing his weight before the two men disappeared in a shroud of smoke.

Michaelis dumped his body on the doorstep and acting out of character was decent enough to ring the doorbell so that he wouldn't be lying there all night. He returned to Revenna before Signe opened the door.

Standing face to face she smacked him, scowling furiously "Don't ever do this to me again. I can handle emotional blackmail but only when it's me who's doing the manipulation"

He rubbed his cheek and asked nonchalantly "How did you know I wouldn't just slit his throat and dump his body in the river?" she smiled slightly

"I trust you" he arched a sceptical eyebrow

"Is that wise?" she giggled, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him lightly on the lips. She cocked her head to the side, studying him though her smile slipped.

"I can't do this you know" she suddenly stepped back, creating some distance between them "You treat me like I'm your possession" he roared with laughter as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard

"Well I am obsessive I'll admit but you're wrong. I don't own you, YOU own ME. At least that's how things used to be but I'm not done yet, trying to fix you" she pulled away from his caress.

"What do you mean 'fix' me?" she questioned uneasily.

"You'll find out" he winked before turning his back on her, walking into the darkness and vanishing.

Chapter 11 - Engangement with a Monster

All of the paranoia and anxieties resurfaced after months of not seeing Michaelis, she'd thought that perhaps he had been killed, although that prospect left a gaping emptiness within her chest, she knew her life would always be in jeopardy whilst she remained with him.

She sighed, twirling the ring on her finger, he wouldn't be pleased about this. Neither would he be pleased that she was engaged to someone so excruciatingly normal. She imagined that if he were still alive he would take it as an insult and demand she go find someone more suitable. She laughed and the sound echoed around the empty shop, reminding her of how alone she was. She had no family to help her pick out a wedding dress.

Rubbing the black lace material between her fingers, she wondered if Michaelis would like it. Her mind reeled as she realised she shouldn't even be thinking about him or his opinion of her, what did it matter? He didn't love her, he loved the woman she used to be.

She stormed into the dressing room and tore the gown off aggressively, throwing it on to the floor. She held her head in despair as tears welled up in her eyes.

She settled on a traditional white silk instead for the big day, resigning herself to the monotony of an ordinary life.

Only a few weeks had passed and now she found herself standing hand in hand with her groom and regretting the commitment she was making before it even became official.

When the reverend asked if anyone objected to their union, a part of her hoped that Michaelis would magically appear to take her away. The reality of which was the shot of a gun and blood soaking her wedding dress. Cries of sheer terror erupted throughout the church as guests scrambled out of the pews.

Her fiancés eyes bulged, staring down in shock at the red stain saturating his shirt and droplets spilling out on to the carpet before he collapsed at her feet. She fell on to her knees worry coiling within her, she didn't love him but he didn't deserve to die.

She applied pressure over the bullet wound trying what she could to spare his life. Revenna heard footsteps walking up the aisle and ascending the stairs to the alter, she knew before she looked up into his menacing blue eyes that it was him.

He placed his gun back in its holster and yanked her upon her feet. His grip tightening to the point where his fingers would leave bruises. His features knotted with anger and his eyes were aflame.

"Forgive me. But I don't recall giving you permission to run off and get married to somebody else!" his tone was seething with fury.

She pushed against his chest, writhing out of his hold "Were you trying to provoke me?" he demanded, anguish evident in his voice.

She sucked in a ragged breath, emotions raged unwelcome within her heart and mind.

"You have been absent for months! I thought you were dead!" she shrieked and her lungs were aching "Maybe it was just all a ploy to draw you out from the shadows" she gulped down air struggling to breath as her throat became constricted. "But you didn't have to kill him!"

Blinded by hatred and confusion she lunged for him letting out a strangled cry, he wrestled with her trying to regain control, she was strong enough to hold her own but she was being careless because of her grief. He pinned her arms by her sides with one arm crushed over her chest as her back was flush against him.

"I warned you I would" he hissed in her ear "And I told you I am an obsessive man. You should have known better Revenna" he spoke scornfully.

She elbowed him in the stomach, twirling around and snatching his gun from its holster, aiming it right between his eyes. Recovering from the blow he smirked as if he knew something she didn't.

He held his arms out, openly inviting her to shoot him which diminished her anger. "You can kill me if that's what you really want" he bent over at the waist, leaning in close to stare directly into her eyes. "But I'm the only one left who loves you. No family came to your wedding, Revenna?" he reminded her with a cruel taunt.

Hesitantly she let her arm drop and the gun slipped from her fingers landing with a crack on the marble floor. Her head was stooped low, so that her bangs fell over her face.

"I hear those feelings of worthlessness cut pretty deep" she punched him so hard she fractured his jaw and he tumbled down the steps and sprawled out on to the aisle. Very calmly she descended the stairs and stood towering above him.

"Get up" she demanded coldly and he was quick to oblige pushing himself into a crouching position before rising to his full height. She was an intimidating woman despite being a head smaller than Michaelis and quite thin compared to the bulky shadow.

"Don't ever say that you love me. Because it's a lie" he was struck by a sudden wave of infuriation.

Seizing her suddenly and forcing her back into a column which knocked her out of breath, he crashed his lips against hers, passion raging like a fire inside of him.

She matched his pace though through turmoil as her feelings for him collided and conflicted.

"U-uh, I now pronounce you man and wife?" an uncertain voice broke them apart, craning his neck to look over his shoulder, the reverend was kneeling at the alter, cowering out of fear and still clutching the groom's wedding ring in his hand. Michaelis smiled as pleasantly as he could, irked that they had been interrupted. He accepted the ring slipping the silver hoop on to his finger and resting a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Thank you reverend, you may go now" he wobbled jumping up on his feet and running down the aisle and out of the church.

Revenna stared at him, as he ran a hand through his coarse black hair, particularly interested in the wedding band. Was this his way of claiming her as his own? She doubted he was very fond of the idea of marriage but probably was more than happy about her becoming his possession. Or him becoming her possession, she wasn't quite sure which.

"I hate that, don't treat me like I don't know what I'm doing, that I don't know my own mind. Do you really believe that I would be wasting my time pining for a girl who didn't love me back if she didn't mean everything to me?!" his voice was strained with his own sorrows.

She hugged herself, pangs of guilt threatening to torture her mind to insanity which was when she came to a decision. She squared her shoulders, a confrontational stance though she had no intention of fighting, just of gaining his obedience. "Take me out of here" she closed the gap between them, her head tilted backward to meet his gaze "Take me home" she whispered seductively.

She generated an air of dominance, like nothing could faze her, she was in complete control. That's when she understood what he meant about her owning him. Michaelis was the exact opposite, confused and afraid while he searched her face for any sign that she may be lying to gain his favour. He bowed his head in submission, taking her hands in his own and transporting them out of there into the comforting shadows of his apartment.

Chapter 12 - Fighting Our Outer Demons

The moonlight cast over her porcelain skin gave her a luminescent glow, her tears had trailed paths down her cheeks which had cut through her makeup, the skeleton teeth peaking through and from underneath her eye he could make out the letters S.T.E.D of her 'TWISTED' tattoo.

His fingers peeled the blood soaked dress from her shoulders with one hand the other unzipping the back and allowing the white fabric to pool at her feet. She stared up at him with intrigue, not in the least embarrassed to be standing half-naked in front of him.

She stood on her tiptoes, her lips only lightly brushing against his before she sank her teeth into them, he pushed her back on to the couch with a growl. His bottom lip was bleeding but he was smiling, his eyes morphing into a desire-fuelled smoky blue hue.

She began to sit up but he had crawled on top of her, pinning her down, with her hands either side of her head. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he whispered huskily, she hooked a leg around his hip and flipped him over so that he was now lying beneath her. She ducked her head to tenderly kiss his split lip and licked away the blood.

A few heated hours had passed between them. They were tangled beneath the sheets, he was awake, marvelling at her beauty while she slept.

He left her side, splashing water on his face and staring hatefully at his own reflection staring back at him. He smashed his fist into the glass in frustration, splitting his knuckles open and shards of glass fell into the sink.

Michaelis threw on a pair of trousers and a shirt on his back, buttoning up before lastly slinging a jacket over one shoulder. He was prepared to leave before being confronted by Revenna standing in the doorway to his bedroom, the sheet covering her modesty and black hair wildly unkempt.

Her eyes squinted at him tiredly through the darkness "Where are you going?" she mumbled, he smiled sadly, planting a kiss on her forehead. He sighed heavily staring down at her and panic filled her eyes as she realised he was leaving and not coming back.

She ran around in front of him blocking his path as he headed for the door. Her hand was pressed against his chest, the sheet falling to the floor and revealing she was wearing a nightgown.

Her expression was a mixture of hurt and confusion. "You're still not satisfied with me unless I kill people is that it?" she hissed in contempt.

"Revenna-" he touched her arm but she slapped his hand away and smacked him across the face. He easily could have blocked it but he didn't dare.

"You should have never kidnapped me if you were planning to abandon me afterward" she threw him back on the coach and sat on his lap, one leg on either side of him. "I haven't changed all too much Michaelis, if anything I'm probably worse than I was before".

"We're tearing each other a part!" he barked, running his thumb over scars which he had been the cause of and grimacing.

She tugged his head back, gripping his hair tightly in one hand "Do you love me?",

"That's irrelevant" he protested in agitation

"Do you love me?!" she demanded pulling tighter, her knee slamming painfully into his stomach.

"Yes" she met his lips with raw passion

"Then you don't have a say in the matter" he pushed her back by the shoulders

"It's killing me watching you get hurt!" he confessed though she scoffed in response, shocking him

"Sentimentality doesn't really suit you Michaelis" horrified he realised she was becoming more and more like him and he gritted his teeth, determined to make her hate him no matter what it took.

"Then allow me to speak in a language you can understand" he threw her off of his lap, her body crashing into the glass table and she screamed as shards pierced into her back.

He stood as calmly as he could trying to reel in his emotions he despised how much this woman was causing him to feel. Erasing her from his life would do a great deal to benefit both of them.

Twisting out of the shattered remnants of the table she shakily tried to get up but he back handed her, causing her to fall down once again. It brought him no amount of pleasure in hurting her as it would if he were hurting any other person but he couldn't think of another way to make her stop loving him.

"Michaelis-" she choked out, he grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up on her feet. Her hand wrapped around a table leg, the nails of which clawing their way out of one end which cut open his cheek after taking one swipe, she stumbled from the vertigo but otherwise kept her stance.

She swung down on his back as he was hunched over and he crumpled on to the floor. She kicked him on to his back so that he was looking up at her. She threw the weapon across the room, kneeling by his side with one arm resting beside his head and the other hand stroking his torn cheek.

He bared his teeth against the stinging sensation but didn't move to stop her. When she tried to kiss him however he cracked her skull against the metal leg of the coach as he restrained her, both of her hands clasped in one of his own and though she struggled she couldn't break free.

"Why are you so infuriating?" he viciously snarled though was taken aback by her deranged laughter. A thought began to occur to him but it was cut short as she stabbed him in the thigh with a shard of glass, slicing her palm in the process but she didn't appear register any pain.

She shoved him backward, sitting against the coach and her head swayed from side to side, examining his face and leaning in close so that there noses were touching.

"Did you miss me baby?" she whispered breathlessly. Her eyes shone like molten gold and a sadistic smile stretched her mouth wide.

"Revenna?" he asked hesitantly

"If you ever try to leave me again, I'll fucking kill you" she spat aggressively before winding her fingers in his hair and capturing his lips.

Chapter 13 - Truth Revealed

He snuck into her house in the dead of night, not for a confrontation but as a warning. Things were getting pretty bad in the city. Humans were dying faster than he had been eliminating them. Without the 'Asylum' they had no means of replacing the organs which were being eaten by parasites.

Monsters had taken over control of the city, monsters like him who would not hesitate to kill anyone who disagreed that humans didn't deserve to die, which was why he was here, to tell her to leave, immediately.

Signe was aware of his presence though she couldn't understand how. She left her husband asleep, not wishing to wake him and possibly hurting the boy. She made her way down to the foot of the stairs and that's when she saw him, a black silhouette in the doorway, a pair of glowing blue eyes staring intently back at her.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded trying to suppress her fury "You actually came back here after what you did to Akuma?" his skin crawled at the mention of his name.

"I'm not here to fight-",

"If you don't get out of my house right now, that's exactly what you're going to get" her voice was level as she stormed up to him but her eyes were alight like electricity.

"Signe-" he tried to think about what real reason there was for him to come here? She had helped him of course but the rest of her family was proving to be an obstacle. This was part of the reason he wanted her to go, once the city was his, he knew they would resist his leadership but ultimately that meant he would have to kill them.

"As much as I enjoy our games of cat and mouse, I really would rather not have to see you or your family die" he confessed which disarmed her.

"Why would you even care about what happens to us?" he clenched his jaw, resenting the fact that he was in this position. Revealing his motives and secrets wasn't something he was overly keen on doing.

"Because y-you're-" he sighed, lowering his head as not to stare directly in her damning gaze. "You're my family" she frowned in confusion, and examined every inch of his face for a hint that he might be lying to her.

She sucked in a long breath before asking "What makes you think we're family?",

"Your brother and his wife raised me" her eyebrows shot up in alarm and he knew that she hadn't spoken to either of them in years after what had happened.

"They were angry at you, they blamed you, you know that much. But I don't believe you'll forgive them for what they've done to you".

She shook her head "What are you talking about?",

"They rescued me from my father, they recognised him but they choose not to return me to you. Out of spite, they raised me as their son and turned me into this" he said in disgust.

"No. No stop it! That's cruel, I told you I lost my baby and now you're using it against me!" she cried hysterically backing away from him but he grabbed her by the arm.

"LOOK AT ME!" he demanded and she did though her eyes were wet with tears. "What do you see? That hatred written all over your face isn't directed at me, is it?"

"You remind me of him" she whimpered backing up against the wall and sliding down on to the floor. He observed her, curled up with her knees against her chest and her hand in her hair before kneeling and taking her hand in his own.

"Did you know he was a slayer?" he nodded solemnly

"That does explain your hatred for them. Does Revenna know?" he sighed running a hand through his hair

"I told her what happened to you and to me but I never told her who my parents were, she doesn't need to know" he leaned back just staring at her for a few moments. "If I ever do meet my father, I'll kill him. Do you have any objections with that?" she gave him a seething look of hatred.

"I see, you want him dead as much as I do. And yet you think all of my psychopathy comes from him" he mused "You should leave however" it was closer to an order than a suggestion as he rose to his feet.

"I don't want my mother getting herself killed or my brother for that matter but please, tell Sonam nothing of what you know" he pleaded before walking out the door as silently as he had entered.

Signe sat shaking on the floor. Up until this moment she truly believed her first child was dead, she imagined that if he ever returned home to prove her wrong she would feel relieved but that was far from the truth.

Chapter 14 - Anarchy City

The streets looked like a battle field, explosions tore through the buildings, fires raged, and bullets rained from either side as humans from outside the city tried to maintain its connection to the outside world whilst the monsters were fighting to segregate it.

Revenna sliced her enemies down, coils of bone erupted from her palms and punctured through their stomachs before tearing them to shreds as branches of bone grew inside of their bodies.

Michaelis was meticulous at taking the enemy by surprise, he would dissolve into smoke and could reappear anywhere, disorientating them in the shroud of shadows he created around them. He particularly enjoyed their heightened fear as they could not see their comrades but could hear their tortured screams as they were slaughtered right beside them.

At one point in the battle, Revenna and Michaelis came back to back and whipped around assuming they'd bumped into another enemy, his knife at her throat and her gun in-between his eyes. They couldn't help but laugh at the similarities between their first encounter.

He launched his blades into oncoming opponents, flinging them over her shoulder as she ducked underneath his arm, spinning on her heel and firing rounds into the skulls of men who were attacking from behind.

"I never answered your question when you came back to me-" he ceased her wrist and pinned her body against his, with his hand on the small of her back. "I did miss you" she wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips feverishly dancing against his, while their tongues stroked wildly in the midst of their passion.

Regardless of whether or not they were in the heat of battle. Even when a soldier began charging to attack Revenna with his arm drawn back, gun in hand she twisted it behind her and shot him between the eyes without breaking her contact with Michaelis.

He chuckled gruffly, the smoke having invading his lungs. He kissed the back of her hand, staring admiring down at her "You certainly haven't lost your skill, you never cease to amaze me" she curtsied dramatically.

They turned back to the battle at hand, which grew increasingly violent as the soldiers realised they were close to being defeated their superiors ordered them to destroy as much as possible.

Windows were shattered from the blasts which tore open patches of the tarmac and concrete pavements, showering Revenna and Michaelis in dust and debris.

Drawing a curved blade from Michaelis' sheath, Revenna slashed a soldier across the chest before he could touch her. Another she plunged the tip into his skull almost up to the hilt. She had to pry open his skull to retrieve the weapon before hurling it into another man's eye. While he scratched and clawed at the slick metal, covered in blood she yanked it out and sliced him across the throat.

The front of her body was drenched in the warm, crimson fluid. She threw her head back and breathed in the scent of blood and smoke. She felt Michaelis' arms snake around her waist and pull her back against his chest. "You look delicious" he purred, licking the blood from her cheek.

She span around in his arms and kissed him gently on the lips, though it only lasted for a second because he drew away from her, having spotted someone who filled his eyes with flaring hatred.

"Get out of here" he commanded, prowling menacingly towards a slayer in the streets. The man caught his eye and he froze in place, momentarily confused by the younger boy's hateful glare but quickly recognised him.

"I suppose you want to kill me?" the old man guessed accurately "I know I probably deserve it after what I did to your mother-" Michaelis' hands balled into fists and he grinded his teeth enraged.

"But don't think that because you're my son I'm going to hold back",

"I'd be disappointed if you did" the slayer's fist collided with his jaw, throwing his body, flailing backwards. The metal gauntlet he had been wearing chipped the bone and it grinded as he grimaced against the pain. His head was slammed into the wall, repeatedly, splitting his skull open.

The shadow heard a girl cry out in alarm, though it was faint as his head was ringing, it drove him to duck at the next blow, the slayer breaking his knuckles on the concrete and he straightened up and slashed his cheek with a blade. The blood showering the pavement.

Michaelis stooped to pick up a metal bar and struck him across the back of the head. He fell on to his knees but caught the bar the next time he took a swing and yanked it out of his grasp, forcing the sharp end of the broken pipe into his stomach.

He yelped, gasping as blood gushed out of the gaping wound. Pulling the metal out with a tug, he punctured the slayers shoulder with it, lifting him off of the ground and slamming him back into the wall.

Tearing a gash across the back of his hand with the spikes along the length of the gauntlet.

He released him, letting his body crash on to the floor.

He withdrew the pipe and used it to bludgeon him across the head and in the chest and stomach so viciously he began to cough up blood before grabbing him by his hair and throwing him across the pavement.

He threw the weapon away and slowly stalked towards him, the slayer rolled on to his back, chocking on his own blood. He kneeled beside him and stared in disgust.

"Aren't you going to kill me? Or did Signe raise you to be 'to good for that'?" he spat mockingly to which Michaelis only smirked

"Perhaps I would spare you if that were the case" he said sadistically withdrawing a knife and pulling him up by his hair into a sitting position. "But unfortunately for you-" he rammed the blade into his chin and he could see the blade slice upward inside of his mouth "I was raised to show no mercy". The man's body trembled violently, and only came to a stop once he had pushed the knife deep enough to puncture his brain.

Releasing his grip, he let the body fall limp on to the ground, the length of his arm was dripping with blood and he smiled with satisfaction, feeling tiny droplets slip off of his fingertips.

"Michaelis!" Revenna cried out hoarsely, he caught sight of her climbing over debris littering the street before she broke out into a full sprint towards him.

She knocked him backwards a couple of steps when she ran into his arms. "I thought I told you to leave" he said with mild irritation, but smiled down at her when he pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Did you really think I would miss this? I can't even wait for what's next" she smiled brightly and he held her close to him.

"This city is ours, it's the first in the world with an all-monster population, we fought for it, we certainly deserve it",

"I know that, that wasn't what I was talking about" she rolled her eyes at him.

"Then what?" he asked genuinely perplexed, what else could she be talking about? Revenna guided his hands to rest on her stomach, though at first he didn't understand, his exploring fingers realised that it was swollen.

"Revenna-are you trying to tell me you're pregnant" he asked in disbelief,

"Well what do you expect is going to happen when you have an active physical relationship?" she whispered teasingly in his ear, while biting down hard on his earlobe.

He lifted her off her feet, spinning her in the air "Michaelis!" she shrieked. He laughed putting her down and kissing her on the cheek.

"It seems this city isn't the only thing I've conquered" he hoisted her up her tiptoes, with his hands underneath her backside and kissed her.

"Michaelis!" he growled in annoyance as they were interrupted by one of his followers "What will we do if the humans ever try to come back?" he asked.

"We're going to seal it off forever, starting by blowing up bridges, inform the citizens that if anyone wants to leave they should do it now, no one's ever coming in or ever going out. If they mange to get in by boat or by air we'll be ready for them-and we'll kill them".

Chapter 15- The Hospital

The shadows had been whispering to Michaelis about a group of slayers that were hiding within these walls. The corridors were grey and desolate, beds were left upturned on the floor, some occupied by rotting corpses. Michaelis sighed, stalking carefully with his wife trailing close behind him.

"What did I tell you about human nature, hmm? Whatever the situation, if their lives are in danger they abandon the weak, leaving them in the dust if it guarantees their own survival. I really wish you hadn't come here" she spun him around to face her.

"And I told you-I don't care if you can survive being torn to shreds or burned alive, if I can spare you the pain I will" she smoothed her hand along his jaw and pressed her fingers against his lips "I wasn't going to let you go into this on your own" he kissed her knuckles, then reached out to caress her belly.

"But it isn't just you I'm worried about anymore" a racket echoed through the hallways, alerting them to someone's presence within the hospital. They treaded around the corner when a bright flash blinded them and white smoke filled the space around them, they choked as their lungs constricted, coughing so aggressively that it made them dizzy.

"Michalis!" Revenna wheezed, her eyes watering. Squinting through the smoke, she couldn't even make out the silhouette of her husband and she was afraid that if someone were to attack him, she would be powerless to stop them.

Someone hit her across the back of the head and she screamed, falling on to her hands and knees as the fog cleared her vision was still hazy but at last she saw Michaelis pinned to the floor by a group of men, she couldn't make out clearly but she could see no reason why he wasn't fighting them off until she heard the click of a gun at the back of her head.

Her eyes widened. "Do we understand each other? If you don't comply with our orders, if you don't run this city the way we ordained it-your girlfriend dies" the man standing behind her was a cold-blooded killer, that much she could tell, his voice was unwavering, emotionless-just the way that slayers were bred to be-he wouldn't hesitate to kill her, he didn't think of her as a person-more like vermin.

Michaelis let out a blood-curdling cry, blinded with rage, he threw the men off of him and lunged for the man, slamming him up against the wall and cutting his stomach open with a blade.

"Hey!" his head whirled around behind him and he gasped as Revenna sat on the floor one of the slayers had dragged her up on her feet and was pressing a gun to her head "You may not die if we shoot you but I'm pretty sure that she will" he growled threateningly.

Michaelis let his head hang in defeat, letting the man's body slide down into a heap on the floor. "Will you release her?" he asked hollowly

"Once you have fulfilled your purpose-for now you're our puppet and she's our bait" he said, striking her over the back of the head and knocking her out cold.

Revenna awoke in a room made of metal, with only a small window casting light down on her as she was bound to a chair and seated at a rusty table.

She thrashed out but her hands and feet were tied to the chair and the rope chafed her skin every time she struggled.

Two men stood by the door, concealed in the shadows "You idiots-do you really believe he's going to obey you?" one of them walked up to her and smacked her across the cheek. To his discomfort she began to laugh, turning her head eerily slow to face him.

"Oh honey, you're going to have to hit me harder than that-you should take lessons from Michaelis" he recoiled disgusted

"Why do you stay with him if he abuses you?" she threw her head back, cackling until she was out of breath

"You really know nothing don't you? You know there are some people who get off on pain and besides I cause him far worse agony than he has ever inflicted on me. Why do you think he stays with me? He doesn't get the option to leave" the two men shared a glance then stared at her, genuinely disturbed by this woman.

"He isn't going to obey you" she repeated herself, agitated by their persistence to keep her here.

"You're his bitch, if he doesn't we'll kill you-",

"And you think he cares?" she rolled her head back while giggling "He won't do something if it disadvantages himself. Right now I'm a burden rather than an asset, you're trying to use me to control him. If you kill me-you'd be doing him a favour" they fidgeted uncomfortably, wondering to themselves if they'd made a mistake by capturing her but the others had told them to keep her here so they had little say in the matter.

"Of course he might come for his child" she was speaking to herself but it caught them off guard

"Y-you're pregnant!?" one spluttered

"Don't listen to her-she's lying!" the other argued.

She leaned forward in her chair, eyes sparkling "Of course you could kill me but can you imagine how he would take that? He's already lost one child-he didn't take that so well, he tortured the poor boy who was responsible but imagine what he'll do to you if he looses another?" she smiled "The best thing for you to do is to let me go".

"Nice try lady, but we aren't falling for your little sap story" he bent over to look into her eyes "Psychopaths are pathological liars" he said before straightening up and backing away from her as her eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Hmm, well I'll admit that's true" she overheard the men talking about their orders to kill Michaelis if he came for her but she growled in frustration

"Are you that stupid that you haven't figured it out yet? He's not coming because he doesn't care about me. He only keeps me around because of my persistence, the fact that I'm the only lackey of his who doesn't screw up and because I'm a good fuck!"

He cocked his head to the side, examining the ring on her ringer "Oh really? Then what's that?" she smiled sweetly up at him before spitting out the word "Ownership" with a bitter cutting edge in her voice.

"That man's a beast!" the other one sneered and her grin widened

"He's a daydream compared to me" she snarled. They could here a commotion coming from beyond the door, men were crying out and guns were firing, they smirked

"And you didn't have any faith in your boyfriend. He's come to your recue, how romantic" he spat sarcastically, drawing his weapon.

"Who said I'm in need of rescuing?" the men whipped around to face her and she stood directly in their faces. Grabbing his gun she twisted the man's arm around to shoot his partner, bending his fingers backward and breaking them so that he dropped the weapon on the ground.

She rammed her knee up into his spine and he cried out at the spasm of pain it caused him. Revenna dragged him over to the metal table and bashed his head in on the sharp edge until his skull broke apart in her hands leaving them sticky with blood and brain matter.

She dived out of the room where the length of the hallway was littered with bodies, blood stained the walls, smoke drifted through the air and she locked eyes with Michaelis, who was breathing heavily from exertion. His hair was matted with gore and his clothes were torn and bloodied.

She ran over the mound of corpses, flinging her arms around his neck in relief. He jerked away from her, slapping her hard across the jaw and she fell back into the wall.

"You've got to stop doing this to me" he hissed while his head was bowed, not looking her in the eye "If I loose you again-I will loose all control" she glanced around at the carnage laughing half-heartedly

"It looks like you already did" he leaned his elbow against the wall, looking down on her and stroking her face with the back of his hand. Grabbing her face suddenly-forcefully

"Do you really think that I don't care for you? I was watching, I heard everything you said. Though you were partially right-if they killed you-I would go on a rampage" he sighed and she gaped up at him, her mouth hanging slightly open and her eyes were wide.

"But I thought you only cared about the baby-",

"I came for you because I love you" he rubbed a hand over his face before burying his head in the crook of her neck, picking her up off her toes slightly as he wrapped his hands around her body.

She was shocked frozen still "Michaelis? That's the first time you've said that to me" she spoke almost breathlessly.

"Did I really have to say it? I thought you knew" he frowned disapprovingly.

He dragged her up by the hair to meet his lips, kissing her with passionate aggression and needless longing, she knew that she loved him just as deeply but it frightened her. She'd never been close to loosing him and she never wanted to be. Not if it hurt as much as loosing their child.

She kissed him back, clinging to him hopelessly as if he might dissolve within her grasp. "I'll probably never understand the extent to which you love me-you're impossible to read Michaelis. All this time I believed I was just another pawn in your game-" he tugged her hair back forcefully so that she was staring him in the eye.

"I never held any control over you. You're reckless, you never listen to a word I say, you're the only person whose ever actually gotten close to killing me, you've nearly gotten yourself killed over your own stubbornness. The power was never mine to yield when it came to you, I've always been playing the game by your rules" he released her, sighing out of sheer exhaustion.

She smiled wickedly "I don't know how to play any other way" she guided him through the mangled limbs and torn flesh, leading him around like a lost puppy back to their home in the asylum.

Chapter 16 - Tragedy

A knot twisted in her stomach as she paced back and forth, feeling as if something were dreadfully wrong, she tried to convince herself that her anxiety was caused by loosing her first child but she had no specific fear she could pinpoint as the source that would soothe her nerves if she thought of an explanation for it.

Michaelis wasn't there with her, perhaps that was why she felt uneasy. Her hands subconsciously went to her now absent baby bump. The doctor came back in the room with a bundle in her arms instantly calming her errant nerves. Signe had inevitably decided to stay within the city though she didn't really have much of a choice as witches were bound to their familiars and the gateway to their world just happened to be located in Anarchy.

She felt a sudden wash of elatedness as her daughter was cradled gently to her chest. The infant had thin red curls like her mother's natural hair colour and when her tiny eyes peeked open, they were blue like her father's.

"Why isn't Michaelis here by now?" she asked her friend. Signe's smile fell and if at all possible, she seemed to grow paler.

"He's been caught in a fight down town, humans trying to infiltrate the city-",

"WHAT?!" Revenna screamed horrified and her baby started crying, startled by her mother's outburst. "Hart, I need you to take care of her until I return" she climbed out of bed handing the baby over to the Doctor.

"What? NO!" she refused stubbornly "You just gave birth, you're weak, if you go after him you could be killed! REVENNA!" she yelled after her as the raven-haired girl darted out the door.

Signe shushed the child in her arms like she had done with her own children when they were babies-well all except Michaelis. Thoughts like these always made her melancholy. Little Sierra had her daddy's eyes and that was just as painful to see. She'd never seen her son's eyes filled with such innocence. They were always blazing with hatred or scornfully mocking people he believed to be inferior.

Revenna hurriedly got dressed and hijacked an abandoned car in the hospital parking lot, slamming her foot down on the accelerator and ripping up the tarmac as she was speeding down the street.

The centre of the city was ablaze which was becoming more and more frequent by the day. Revenna slammed the car door shut, squinting her eyes through the thick black smoke, which would make it near impossible for her to find him if it hadn't been for his glowing blue eyes.

She broke out into a full sprint, across the street towards them. As he caught sight of her running towards him, a mixture of relief and confusion coursed through him which quickly turned to dread as he remembered she should be in hospital. Had something happened? Was that why she was here? Never once had it occurred to him that she would come because she feared for his safety.

He held her waist, her hands braced against his forearms in a semi-embrace. "Revenna?" he croaked in anguish, it took a moment for her to realise what he must be thinking.

"No, don't worry! She's safe, she's with Hart at the hospital" he released the breath he had been holding. "I came to see you" she said with a slight note of worry taking in his battered body, he looked like he'd been dragged through Hell, burns blistering patches of his skin, a deep gash cut across his cheek, his eyes were hazy in exhaustion and his clothes were tarnished by blood, she knew from experience that it wasn't his own blood.

"She? That's what you said. I have a daughter?" she rolled her brown eyes mildly amused

"Yes, stupid" she allowed him to wrap his arms around her, this was the happiest she had ever seen him, pure happiness, not tainted by the malice which came from killing someone but it didn't last. Nothing remotely close to joy ever did last for them.

Michaelis opened his eyes slightly, he saw a man standing behind them across the street raise his gun towards Revenna's back and he fired.

"NO!" the shot rang out, echoing in the empty alleyways, Revenna felt her husband hold her even tighter, his body trembling with sobs and it took her a second to remember the last time he had cried, he had almost lost her back then as well but this time-

Michaelis had spun her around so fast it had disorientated her but she had registered that a gun had been fired and she felt him tense up as blood spouted from his back. She was forced to kneel as his legs gave out beneath him and all of his weight was supported on her as his arms were wrapped around her slim shoulders.

She lay him down on the ground, glancing up to meet the human's gaze as he raised the gun a second time but this time, Revenna was faster, pulling a knife from it's sheath attached to her hip she launched it into the man's jugular, blood gushing out as his hand flew to his neck. Before he collapsed dead on to the ground.

She sat beside Michaelis and he watched her with a peculiar calmness reserved only for when he knew the worst was about to happen.

She lifted his head up and rested it on her knees, stroking back his mangled bangs. "Come on stop it now, you can heal from this-why are you looking at me like it's the last time you're ever gonna see me?" she failed to keep her voice level, it cracked as tears spilled down her cheeks and frantically she wiped them away.

His hand cupped her face and he smiled through the pain "Tell me what our daughter looks like" he requested but she shook her head

"You'll get to see her for yourself" she insisted. Michaelis was no longer smiling, his face contorted and he groaned quietly against the searing heat

"I'm n-not invincible Revenna, I can just heal-but not through something f-fatal" a spasm of pain ripped through him and he arched his back, screwing his eyes shut and baring his teeth. "He shot me through the heart. Please-I w-wanna know what she looks like". A single tear rolled down her cheek and she held him close, stroking his hair and whispering in his ear.

"She's just about as pale as the both of us, the poor thing looks ill, she's so tiny and frail. She has a full head of ginger curls" she giggled and he looked up at her quizzically

"Ginger?" she laughed, wiping away at her glistening cheeks.

"You've never seen me with red hair, have you?" she mused kissing his hair and running her fingers through it, though it was matted with blood she didn't care.

"I would o-of liked to" he smiled, painfully, letting out a short laugh which wracked his body with more overwhelming agony.

"And she has blue eyes, like yours. That's my favourite thing about her-" she stared into his intense gaze trying not to break down completely at the way he was looking at her, like always he never could fully understand her, which was one of the things which drew him to her in the first place.

"She's beautiful" Revenna choked out "Like you were" she covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a sob. With his hand in her hair, he pulled her down closer and kissed her tenderly.

A ghost of a smile curved the corners of his mouth "Loving you hurt so much-" he whispered coarsely "But all those times I felt like I was dying when I thought I lost you-made me feel something I had never felt before" he shuddered, the touch of his skin felt like ice, even in the smouldering heat of the flames.

"What?" Revenna pressed eager to keep him talking

"Alive" she laughed breathily, full of warmth and yet sadness all at once

"Michaelis-I love you" he was smiling as the light in his eyes became dull and he was no longer looking at her but through her. The hand that had been holding her head fell on to the ground lifelessly. Her hand, which had been pressed against his chest, felt his heartbeat slow to a stop.

Revenna stared for the longest time even though she knew he was gone. She cried out in agony too profound that no injury could replicate it. Though her chest felt like it was tearing up from the inside and her throat was on fire as she couldn't stop her anguished cries.

When she returned to the hospital night had fallen, Signe knew from the moment she saw Revenna wondering helplessly towards her that her life had been torn to shreds in front of her eyes.

She more or less fell into the older woman's arms as she didn't have anyone else who could comfort her. They stood like that, Signe stroking her hair and whispering gently in her ear. It made little difference if she heard her words, she just needed the young woman to know she wasn't alone.

Revenna sat back on her hospital bed, still fully clothed and a young bright, blue eyed child in her lap. It was torture just looking at her, not because she reminded her of him but because Revenna knew they would never meet, because she knew that her daughter would never be held by her daddy and never be able to exchange 'I love yous' which was the cruellest thing of all.

She thought back to how those very words had been the last thing she had said to him and she cried herself to sleep, refusing to let anyone take her daughter away from her. Instead that night she slept with the infant close to her chest, where she could feel her and reassure herself that she wasn't going anywhere.

Chapter 17 - Sierra

Her mother noted that 14-year-old Sierra possessed none of her parents psychosis though this was to her relief as living with someone who reminded her of Michaelis would have been unbearable.

Revenna concluded that she must have been conceived during that time when she wasn't quite herself and was a little too sane for Michaelis to be comfortable with. Thankfully that hadn't lasted for long but it lasted long enough for Sierra to be created.

She was a kind, shy girl, though bubbly around her friends and intelligent like her father paired with equal amounts of sass from her mother.

Something unsettling which Revenna had noticed from an early age was her daughters shadow. It was not that of a little girl's but was the silhouette of a grown man. Sometimes she would see Sierra talking to it or playing games with the shadow and she tried to think back to what her husband had told her about shadows. She knew that they were creatures who protected you but he never mentioned them interacting with their bonded.

A small part of her hoped that it was Michaelis as silly as she thought she may be for even thinking that. Though her own shadow was a perfect reflection of her which it had never been, it had always been absent but when it wasn't she was standing side by side with Michaelis and it had taken on a monstrous form. This was a confirmation of sorts for her that he was really gone.

"Mom?" Sierra woke her up one night, standing at the foot of her bed at 17 years old, rubbing her tired blue eyes. For a second when she sat up in bed, Revenna had been certain that a man was standing behind her in the doorway though she blinked and he was no longer there.

"I think I met dad in my dream" she felt at a loss for words, she didn't even know where to begin replying to something like that so instead she opened her blanket and let Sierra slip into bed beside her, wrapping a protective arm around the young girl.

"Why don't you tell me about it" she cooed softly, stroking her curls.

"I dreamt that I was standing in a forest in the middle of the night and I heard someone crying. I found a little boy hiding from me, he was rocking back and forth, his knees were against his chest and his face was buried in his arms so I knelt in front of him and asked him what was wrong. He looked up at me and he had the same eyes as me, his face was dirty and pale and he had black tangled hair. He told me he was missing someone, though he felt like he'd been lost so long he couldn't really remember if she was real or he had imagined her. He-described you, mom" Revenna had been listening intently, painfully aware of another presence in the room standing over them.

"Did you ever know dad when you were a kid?" she shook her head

"Sierra, I told you how we met, all I know about his childhood is that it wasn't a very happy one, he was living like an animal" She explained and she felt her chest weighed heavy with sorrow though it wasn't because of the boy in the dream it was coming from the shadow of a man behind her, she caught his reflection in her dresser mirror.

Sierra snuggled down beside her, closing her eyes "You don't have to be afraid of him, you know. He's watching over you too" she waited until the girl's breathing had evened out, knowing that she was now asleep, she rolled over on to her back and stared up into the blank face of the shadow.

She didn't feel afraid but her chest was gripped with longing and sadness. The dark figure kneeled over her and kissed her and she felt a cold pair of lips as she closed her eyes and she felt her fingers claw through hair as she clutched the back of his head. The shadow holding one of her hands to the side of her head, its fingernails digging into the back of her hand greedily. The other tilting up her chin.

Revenna awoke with a start bolting upright in bed, her breathing was ragged and she brushed her hair out of her eyes trying to calm down her racing heart. Glancing beside her, she found that Sierra was still sound asleep beside her. She winced examining her hand and finding jagged scratches across the back of it.

Flexing her fingers she looked around her room and writing across the mirror drawn in blood caught her eye. A single word had been spelled out "Alive". She smiled, her chest feeling elated but her heart leaped out of her chest when she heard the door to the room creek open.

Sierra and Revenna lived alone and they owned no pets, no one should be on the other side of the door.

Once it was open wide, Sierra sat up in bed, having awoken from the noise and followed her mother's gaze, staring at the open door.

Her breath caught in her throat "Dad?".

THE END


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